12/01/2025
A Confirming Word on Old King Herod
I just want to echo what Rick said in his fine sermon yesterday (Nov. 23). Herod was a ruthless tyrant and skilled politician. When the Magi don’t report back to him, he decides to kill all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2. That’s one paranoid dude. And yet, and yet the consequences of a king like Herod are just the kind of things that we are secretly attracted to. We like the security, we like the building projects, we like the fact that the trains run on time (or would it be that the chariots run on time?!?).
Jesus offers us so much more, but in doing so Jesus may very well take away some of our security, building a Kingdom within and not without, and the way of the cross is terribly inefficient if we want what we want and want it now.
I just thought You might appreciate a further word on Herod from our good friends on Wikipedia.
Herod the Great (c. 72 – c. 4 BCE) was a Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects. Among these works are the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of its base—the Western Wall being part of it. Many of the crucial details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus.
Despite Herod's successes, including forging a new aristocracy, he has been criticized by various historians. His reign polarizes historians’ opinions, some viewing his legacy as evidence of success, and some viewing it as evidence of tyranny.
Herod the Great is described in the Christian Bible as the coordinator of the Massacre of the Innocents. Most of the New Testament references are to his son Herod Antipas (such as the events leading to the executions of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth in Matthew 14), or his grandson Herod Agrippa (in Acts 12). Upon Herod's death in 4 BCE, the Romans divided his kingdom among three of his sons and his sister: his son Herod Antipas received the tetrarchy of Galilee and Peraea.
Archived Posts
What just missed the cut for Sunday’s Sermon
Naaman’s servants may actually become one of the hidden gems of the sermon. They say, essentially: “If the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it.”
One of the Longest Benedictions I Ran Out of Time to Share
Maybe you know the story of how Joseph and Mary accidentally left Jesus at the gas station on their way home from Jerusalem. Well, not the gas station bathroom in Jesus’ case. Joe and Mary are far down the road before they realize Jesus isn’t with them...
So many quips and quotes...
So little time to preach
I wonder what Mary and Martha’s phones might look like:
* Martha = the open browser with 27 tabs
* Mary = the single window that matters
* Psalm 46 = God saying, “Close the tabs.”
Quotable Outtakes That Didn’t Make the Sermon This Week
“When you try to control everything, you don’t just exhaust yourself—you quietly replace trust in God with trust in you.” & more
There is a challenge when it comes to preaching the Word of God.
Preachers are called to open up and interpret the word—inspired and written down thousands of years ago—and make it relevant to a very different world. On top of that there’s a degree of persuasion that goes along with the process.
What Jessica Really Meant to Say in Her Sermon…
When Jessica or Rick or a guest preacher takes the pulpit it’s hard for me to write a One More Thing Blog. I can’t share with you what didn’t make it into the sermon because I have no idea, not having written or delivered it.
Jesus Keeps On Ruining Funerals!
I didn’t have anything this last week that didn’t end up in the sermon. No catchy illustrations that didn’t make the cut. No theological insights that slowed down the main point. No one can ruin a funeral like Jesus. Told as I saw it and that was it. So I did some quick research and I thought I’d share just a reminder of what Easter is all about.